How Do I Love Thee?
by cherryblu
Summary: Let me count the ways. Lily recounts what had made her fall in love with James. Warning...I am not the best writer grammerwise, mind you that it was after midnight when I wrote this, but I do hope you enjoy my oneshot story nonetheless! PLEASE LEAVE A REV


A/N: I do not own HP, I wish I did but I don't. Everything in italic is Lily in deep thought, reflecting seventh year. So enjoy!

'_How do I love thee? Let me count the ways……' Le sigh Sometimes I wonder what made me fall in love with that insufferable prat, James Potter. I never hated him, not really, honestly. He just pushed my buttons. But in the end, I realized, it was his imperfections that made him so perfect. I have been lucky. I never realized until now what a wonderful person James is. I can remember all the things that drew me towards him….._

_It was his affection towards his second cousin, Veruca Bucket, for one thing. She was going into her first year while James and I were going to our last and final year. James protected her and set a good example for her. Not to forget to mention James spoiled her senselessly! Veruca looked up to James with such adoration that it made my heart break if anything bad should happen. Veruca made me realize what a good father James would become. I have a soft spot for men with a paternal touch. James's paternal touch brought him a few notches higher in my book….._

_Another thing was that James has an incredible talent for playing the piano. Just the sound of the piano makes me want to dance. In the Gryffindor Common Room, there is an old piano that is bewitched to play at certain times of the day. People often hear it at night, its sweat notes playing a lullaby. It is not all that common for a pureblood wizard to know the piano, since the piano is a muggle instrument that the wizarding world had long ago adopted, so I was pleasantly surprised when I walk into the common room to see James on the piano. It was after midnight, and I remember thinking, "Is he playing for me?" I startled him into stopping when I stepped on a loose floorboard. "Don't stop," I remember saying. But James didn't say anything. He just smiled, stood up, and, before leaving to his own dorm, kisses me lightly on the fore head….._

_When I found out about the lengths he and his friends went through in order to always stand by Remus Lupin, my heart just swelled with pride. Remus Lupin is a werewolf. It is hard to be a werewolf, and lonely. James, Sirius Black, and Peter Petigrew became illegal animagus. It takes a true friend to do what they did, to risk their freedom for someone else's sanity. It truly proves that James does care more about other than himself….._

_There were sillier things that also made my stomach flutter. When it came time for my eighteenth birthday at the beginning of seventh year, he gave me a bouquet of lilies. However, the spot that James had picked the flowers were also next to a mound of fire ants. The ants were attacking his hands, and yet he still went on picking those flowers. It was the sweetest gesture anyone had ever done and I could not help myself by hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. During a Hogsmead weekend, James was unable to go as a punishment for whatever reason. His friend Peter brought back some chocolate covered nuts, but Peter forgot about James's allergy to nuts. His throat swelled and was having trouble breathing. I could not bear it to see James so vulnerable. I helped James to the hospital wing so he could be taken care of and I stayed with him, pampering him like a mother tending to her sick child, much to Madam Pomfrey's dismay. There was a time when I caught James fixing his hair. I always laugh at this because James has uncontrollable hair that cannot be tamed. Whenever James catches me laughing at him, he pouts and tries even harder to fix it, while all I can do is laugh harder and go up to him and ruffle up his hair even wilder…._

_Then there is this one memory that sticks to my mind the most. On Valentine's Day of seventh year, James and I sneak off to a room I later found out is called the Room of Requirement. There is a plush leather couch set right across a blazing fire. Across the couch was a table with two glasses and a bottle of sparkling cider. Once we were sitting on the couch, James takes my hand and looks me right in the eye and asks, "Do you believe in love at first sight?" I was unsure how to answer, but James continued, "Well, I do. I know you may not feel the same, but I've loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. I know now that I approached it all wrong the last few years, but please understand that I all I wanted was for you to notice me, even if it meant having you telling me off. This year I thought, since things have been going fairly well, I tell you the honest truth. And the truth is, Lily Evans, I love you." I was blinking back tears by the time he told me he loved me. Then it was my turn to speak, "I….I love you James."

* * *

_

"…..'s wrong?" I snap out of my reverie, and I remember where I am. I am in a church, all dressed in white, being led down an aisle by my father. "Nothing, Dad," I whisper to him, "I'm just happy." I look at my future husband, and I see a single tear. My mind is on automatic as my father gives me away, as the minister gives our vows, but as the minister asks, "Do you, Lily Evans, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband?" I switch my mind to manual and say, "I do."


End file.
